4 August 2025
Joyce has been complaining that the paper diapers she wears keep slipping down. They have Velcro left and right wings that stick to the front piece that comes up from below. Getting a tight fit around her waist, though, is difficult.
Of course most people wearing them don't get out of bed and walk around. So it isn't much of a problem.
But the physical therapists have recommended Joyce wear pull-ups instead (which are a panty-style diaper) so she isn't confined to them but can drop them or pull the back up if she wants to try using the toilet.
When she went to the hairdresser and the paper diaper was slipping a CNA used the last pull-up I'd bought for her in October over the paper diaper to keep it secure.
So she needs more.
The first thing I did was a little research. I found that Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid) will pay for pull-ups (just as it does for diapers) if the patient has a doctor's "prescription" for them.
So when I went to Golden Heights today, I asked at the front desk. This was a little out of Julian's field of expertise but Raquel (who has been keeping Joyce in high protein Boosts) volunteered to help.
First, she told me, they don't have pull-ups. They never order them, in short. Just the paper diapers.
So I explained the slippage issue and that if Dr. Dimaano would "prescribe" pull-ups, Medi-Cal would pay for them.
She knows how to reach Dr. Dimaano. I went on to Joyce's room to get her up for the day.
After I Joyce sat up on the side of the bed to get dressed, I rolled her wheelchair down the hall to the scale on the other side of the building. When I got back she had walked to the bathroom by herself and sat on the toilet.
But she hadn't removed the diaper and didn't know what to do next. I rang for a CNA but there was no one in sight. I didn't want to leave her there like that long, so I went to the desk and asked for help.
Raquel found someone who could replace the diaper and get her back to the bed to finish dressing.
When Joyce was eating lunch in the hallway a little while later, I heard Raquel come down the hall, calling my name.
She had looked into it and found that Kaiser Medi-Cal will indeed pay for them. She just needed to know the size. S/M or L/XL. Since the paper ones were slipping, we went with S/M. The ones I had bought her were L but she weighed a lot more then.
So Raquel ordered the S/M pull-ups. "We'll try that size first," she said.
Which beats me buying them and deducting them from the monthly fee. Joyce gets the pull-ups without paying for them and Golden Heights doesn't get a monthly deduction.
On the way out today, I stopped again at the front desk. Raquel looked up and asked me, "Yes?"
"Thank you!" I said.